BEEF ALERT!
Okay, maybe not. But there was certainly no love lost between the world’s most famous rapper and one of the most iconic superstars in today’s NBA during Wednesday night’s Raptors game against the Golden State Warriors.
To the delight of the Internet, Drake, the Raptors ‘global ambassador’ and Kevin Durant, this off-season’s biggest prize and the deadliest scorer in basketball “feuded” during Toronto’s 127-121 loss to Golden State.
The first shot was fired by Drake, who, from his familiar perch alongside the Raptors bench, stared down a stone-faced Durant after a DeMar DeRozan jumper extended an early Raptors lead.
Of course, it’s hardly the first time Drake has used his prime seating to try to mess with opposing players — you may recall the time he taunted Pacers guard Rodney Stuckey during the playoffs last season, or when he helped lure then-Bulls guard Justin Holiday into a 5-second call during a critical late-game possession.
On Wednesday, however, Drake’s shenanigans were, well, less effective. Durant finished the game with a cool 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Warriors extended their record to 9-2 on the season.
Yet that didn’t deter His Drakeness, who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bump Durant during his post-game interview with ESPN. Durant responded with an icy stare before telling an international television audience: “I don’t give a damn about no damn Drake night.”
This is the part where we, painfully, acknowledge that Drake and Durant are in fact friends and that this ‘beef’ was most likely in jest. At a press conference prior to the game Drake told reporters that he was happy that his friend had found a good home and stellar opportunity in Golden State. This past summer, at a concert in Oakland, Drake even sported a Durant jersey on stage:
But, hey, for now let’s just pretend that these two are truly vicious enemies, and that last night’s fireworks will serve as a jumping off point for a bloodthirsty Raptors-Warriors rivalry. Cool? Cool.